White
by Inkycat
Summary: 'It could have been a second or a million years, but then suddenly Arthur became dimly aware of his existence again. White light flooded his eyesight.' Arthur wakes up in a strange place. Guided by a hazel eyed woman, Arthur wants to seek the truth about what had really been going on in Camelot but strange things are happening afoot in the real world for Merlin. POST 5X13[[HIATUS]]
1. White - Letting go

The last thing he saw was crystal blue, tear soaked eyes of Merlin; fighting for Arthur to stay alive.

_"Thank you."_

Arthur struggled to get the words out, the pain in his body was screaming out, the black oblivion trying to take over his mind. But Arthur didn't want to succumb to that just yet, he couldn't! He felt his strength leave his hands and panicked slightly as he realised he couldn't hold on to Merlin anymore. However he could feel Merlin cradling him in his arms and Arthur kept his mind focused on the one remaining constant left in his life. Merlin's ice blue eyes.  
Suddenly his body sagged as the last of his remaining strength deserted him and the pain prevailed over his numb limbs. No! His eyesight began to flicker and he used his remaining strength to keep his eyes open, to keep them on Merlin. However the world was encased by a blanket of morbid black and he could see no more.

Blind, he only had his senses of touch and hearing left and Arthur was determined to keep a hold of them for as long as he could. Arthur had no control over his body any more.

_"ARTHUR!"_

Arthur felt his heart drop and shatter into a million pieces as Merlin screamed out his name, rocking Arthur's body back and forth. A single tear dropped onto Arthur's cheek and he could feel Merlin stroking the side of his head, looking for any sign that Arthur could come back. Arthur was screaming internally, wanting to tell Merlin that everything was okay.

But it wasn't.

_"NO!"_

Merlin began to start fully sobbing and heaving as he cradled Arthur's body even closer to his own. The blackness in Arthur's mind became ever more dominant, their warm hands welcoming him to a blissful oblivion, away from the stabbing pain in his chest. But Arthur was stubborn he didn't want to leave yet.

_"ARTHUR! NO!"_

Merlin roared out in pain and frustration and it all became too much for Arthur. He finally let go.

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It could have been a second or a million years, but then suddenly Arthur became dimly aware of his existence again. White light flooded his eyesight. HIS EYESIGHT!

Arthur bolted up straight and put a hand to his face.

He had a face!

Of course he had a face, why wouldn't he? Arthur slowly moved his hand backwards through his hair before looking down. Two legs and two feet. He put his arms out in front of him and flexed his fingers. His chest! Arthur stared down his chest, feeling it with his fingertips, the smoothness of it unnerving him. A tide of memories washed over him and Arthur lay back down putting his arms over his eyes.

The battle. Mordred and a sword in his chest. He was dying. Merlin had magic.

_Merlin had magic.  
_

That had been the most difficult thing to get over and he felt his eyes watering over with the sound of Merlin screaming his name. Merlin who had seen him die. Merlin who couldn't save in time. Merlin who he had abused over the years. Merlin who was the only one who remained loyal to him throughout his life.

Merlin.

His tears turned to sobbing and once Arthur had started, he couldn't stop. For what he had lost. Merlin, Gwen, the Knights, _his kingdom. _But then he realised that they weren't lost. He had saved them. He and Merlin had both saved it.

With this realisation, Arthur took in a big breath and sat up once more. He wiped the salted drops from his eyes and then became to compose himself. He stood up and realised he was clothed in a simple light red tunic and brown trousers. Looking around, he tried to get a better sense of his surroundings.

The pure white light had been overpowering at first, but now he had begun to take notice of his surroundings, it began to dim. Arthur found the place he was in very disorientating as he couldn't find a single thing that he could use to pinpoint where he was. He walked forward a few steps but nothing changed. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to look around for somewhere to focus on. Nothing. It was no good.

A shadow appeared on the horizon and walked slowly towards him. Arthur began to walk forwards to it, stumbling slightly and being caught by a pair of soft white hands. He looked up into the hazel brown eyes of a beautiful young woman.

"We've been waiting a long time for you Arthur Pendragon," she said softly, helping him stand back on his feet.

"You've been-what?" Arthur mumbled, finding it hard for the words to come out. He gave the woman a confused look, who gave him a gentle smile in return.

"It's okay, most people are usually really disorientated when they first arrive," she gripped his left arm and let him lean against her, before slowly leading him down the white road.

The white road, Arthur mused. His surroundings had slowly merged into a long straight road which the light of the space had dulled down. The road was smooth but that was the only thing he could pick out. To either side of him and the woman, there was still a dazzling whiteness which he couldn't comprehend what was in it.

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

"No." Arthur replied, an odd feeling of dread and dissatisfaction falling over him.

"That's okay, I wouldn't be if I was you," her words were soft and kind, and Arthur felt himself warming to the woman, although he still had no idea where he was or who she was.

"Though you can let go now." she added.

"Let go?" Arthur asked confused by this statement.

"Let go of all the ties you have to the previous world, that burden is no longer upon you," she replied.

"But my friends are still out there!" he said indignantly, "what happens to them?"

"I cannot answer that, it is their destiny to discover for themselves. You have fulfilled your destiny and now you have been called by the Elders to be here".

They stopped walking and Arthur saw that they were in a clearing. The white was slowly shifting and revolving until he could detect shades of pale green and brown. The texture beneath his feet had changed, he could feel the soft spongy grass beneath his soles. However it was devoid of trees or plants or anything of the such and still glowed a shimmering white, now flecked with a small magnitude of pale greys and greens.

"I must leave you here until you are ready to continue forth," she said more firmly, though still with an air of graceful kindness, "I will come back when you have let go".

"But you can't leave me!" Arthur exclaimed, not wanting to lose the person who might be able to give answers to where ever the hell he had ended up.

"You are not alone Arthur Pendragon. You are never alone," she said, indicating with her head to a figure sitting crossed legged with his back to them. "He arrived five minutes shortly after you did".

She let go of his arm and walked off into the distance within the blink of an eye. Arthur stared after her, completely dumbfounded. He stood for several seconds, unsure of what to do, completely bemused by the events of which had just happened. His questions had been multiplying ever since the dramatic turn of events at the Battle of Camlann and now he was unsure in what to believe in anymore.

However he was going to try to find answers to his questions. Starting with the crossed legged figure on the floor, clad in pale brown tunic and trousers similar to his own.

"Gwaine?"

The man turned his head.


	2. Grey - Forgiving

Thank you for my amazing reviews, I certainly wasn't expecting that! And it's now currently 03:05 on the 1/1/13. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! BOOMSHAKALAKALAKABOOM!

Thank you Rotoshark, Izzy-I.R.T, Vuurlieg, StarWritingFlute2000, Katerina Riley, Method in Madness, AshleighKathryn.

Izzy I understand about the paragraphing, I had to originally repost the first chapter because it decided to bunch it up all together when I first posted, but I will go back and try to fix it. Here is the next chapter for all of you lovely people.

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"Arthur?" he asked gravely.

Arthur walked slowly over and knelt next to the man. He had no visible scars on him but he seemed to have aged older beyond his years. Something had happened to him since the Battle of Camlann, something that had scarred him. Gwaine kept his head down low, not quite looking up at Arthur. Arthur sensed something was troubling him, but the way that Gwaine was averting eye contact meant it had something to do with him.

"Gwaine, are you okay?" he asked quietly, lowering himself so he was level with Gwaine, sitting cross legged. Gwaine looked up for the first time; his grey eyes gave Arthur a hollow look, grim and so full of despair.

"I failed," Gwaine murmured looking down again, "I betrayed the King". His voice was full of remorse and bitterness, which was amplified by his flat tone. A silence fell between the two of them; Arthur was unsure what to say next.

After a while (Arthur wasn't sure how long, time seemed to have no point where he was), Arthur plucked up the courage to break the silence with a single question.

"How did you die?"

Looking up, Gwaine gave Arthur another hollow stare, his eyes getting clouded over with tears. There were a few moments where it looked like he was never going to speak again but then his lips parted slightly and a single word, barely whispered, escaped from his mouth.

"Morgana."

Arthur reverted his mind back to when Morgana had pounced upon him and Merlin for the last time, any trace of dignity that she once had, had vanished. The demeaning and wild look in her eyes, when she thought she had finally succeeded in killing him was inhumane. Her soul had been so tainted from the many years beforehand when she had been the young naïve woman; her spirit had once been so carefree and wild.

He didn't know what had happened to crush her spirit; his last memory of her was a stark contrast to what he knew. All that Arthur knew was that it wasn't Morgana that had tried to kill him. That part of her had been snatched away long ago, all that was left behind was a creature so hell bent on revenge that nothing would stop her. But Merlin had killed her.

Merlin.

That was another mystery about him that Arthur still didn't know about. Morgana's last moments on Earth had been Merlin apologising to her. Some feud had gone on behind his back and judging by the venomous looks they had given each other; it had gone on for years. Underneath the contemptuous looks was a much bigger current of hatred.

"_This is no mortal blade. Like yours, it was forged in a dragon's breath."_

And it saddened Arthur even further. Merlin had been so much more than the fact that he was Warlock. Even more, Merlin had managed to get a sword _forged in the breath of a dragon_. Arthur had no idea that the sword he had used so many times had been forged in the breath of a dragon. And more ironically the sword that had killed him had also been forged in the breath of a dragon. No wonder Merlin couldn't save him.

"Gwaine, what did Morgana do you?" Arthur asked cautiously. A single tear rolled down from Gwaine's eye, the pain evident on his face.

"She… tortured me" he said slowly, "she… she wanted to know where… where you were…"

Gwaine let out a big sigh, wiping away more salty tears that had moistened his eyelids.

"I tried not to tell her… but I couldn't bear the pain Arthur!" his voice had risen, his emotions taking control of him. Arthur had never seen this side of Gwaine before; normally he was the life and the laughs of the Knights. This Gwaine sitting in front of him had clearly been holding back much more than he let on.

Arthur wanted to mentally slap himself. Had he really been this oblivious to everyone?

"I'm so sorry Arthur."

Arthur leant forward and embraced Gwaine in his arms.

"I'm sorry!"

Knight in combat, brother in arms, and the bond between them that Gwaine thought he had shattered. Arthur realised what Gwaine was saying but he knew Gwaine wouldn't have done so otherwise. Gwaine was the noble one, always putting himself out to help others. Gwaine, the man who had defied his fathers orders and come back to Camelot to save his life. Gwaine who was loyal to Camelot, the Knights and him. He knew in his heart that Gwaine would never put Arthur in danger. And Arthur realised in that moment that he wasn't the only one that needed to let go.

"I forgive you."

Gwaine sat up and faced Arthur properly for the first time. Arthur knew he owed it to Gwaine to explain as much as he knew, no matter how long it took.

"Morgana isn't the reason why I'm here. Merlin killed Morgana."

"Merlin?" Gwaine asked mystified.

"I've been thinking the same thing ever since I found out," Arthur suddenly felt giddy, as a new surge of memories rushed to his brain. _Merlin _waking him up in the morning, _Merlin_ juggling at Queen Annis's court, _Merlin _beating him at gambling in the tavern.

"Found out?" Gwaine was beginning to act more composed, his composure had changed as though a great weight had been lifted from his chest. Although he was still subdued, Arthur had noticed the change in him.

"Merlin. He has magic." There was a short silence before-

"-magic! I knew it!" Gwaine said and then gave Arthur a small watery smile, "no wonder he wanted to go to the Valley of the Fallen Kings".

The Valley of the Fallen Kings. Yet another mystery about Merlin to be solved.

"When was this?" Arthur asked.

"Just before the Battle of Camlann, I travelled with him to the Valley of the Fallen Kings so that he could enter some cave. He refused to let me aid him any further and made me go back for you Arthur," Gwaine recounted, his eyes beginning to well up with tears once more, "Merlin didn't tell me what he was doing, but it most of been of the upmost importance to go right before the battle".

"Yes," Arthur replied, a searing guilt washed over him as he remembered the moment when Merlin asked if he could leave Arthur for the day. Arthur then felt himself getting hotter and hotter at the fact he admitted something that he hadn't told Merlin, but would have liked too.

"_I thought you were the bravest man I'd ever met."_

Arthur didn't like praising Merlin out loud; it would have been admitting that Merlin was right.

"_I guess I was wrong"._

I guess I was wrong.

Wrong.

Wrong.

Wrong.

Arthur was wrong about everything. Everything he thought he knew had been turned in its head. Magic. Magic was what had shaped his world and Arthur had merely pushed it aside. His father's views had been enforced upon him, granted, but Arthur had shook them off slightly and had a more slanted view on magic. He also realised it wasn't magic that had corrupted Morgana, nor any of the people it had touched.

It was power. The power that magic gave to people corrupted them. Morgana wanted to rule over Camelot in her own vicious reign because of the wealth and power it had offered her. Magic was what had fueled this need for power.

Yet magic is what had saved his life on countless occasions. Arthur couldn't make up his mind on if he should trust magic or not.

And realising that magic could be good or bad, he realised that all the worries that had been shrouding his mind about Merlin had vanished. Merlin had always been with him, through the good and the bad. Magic hadn't corrupted him, it had strengthened him.

Holding onto this new thought, Arthur allowed any worries he had regarding magic drain slowly from him and a new sense of hope begin to flicker in his heart.

Gwaine too looked much happier realising that he hadn't brought Morgana to Arthur's death, but rather Morgana to her own death.

Arthur didn't need to look up to realise that the woman was watching him.

"I understand now, magic doesn't corrupt people, it is the power that magic brings which corrupts the people," he said slowly.

Arthur finally understood what had been troubling him for so long. His father had been wrong. Arthur knew Gwen was a fair and just person who would rule wisely over Camelot. He put all of his faith into that she would make the right decisions. Everything was going to be okay.

Standing up, he felt a lot more confident than when he had first arrived in this place. Gwaine slowly got onto two knees for leaning against Arthur for support in standing up.

"I'm ready," Arthur said to the woman. She smiled at them both, her presence was filling Arthur with ease and the confirmation that he needed.

"I know you are," she replied, "You both are".

And with that, they both followed her away from the clearing.

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Thank you for staying with me through this chapter, hopefully the next chapter should either have a bit more action, answer some of your questions or both. Happy new year!


	3. Yellow - Understanding

They entered a huge hall. For the first time the colours were brighter and vivid, instead of the white and pale Arthur had adjusted himself to seeing. The hall was of gigantic proportions and had an almost dreamlike feel to it. Three huge marble pillows were arranged in an triangular position whilst a rainbow kaleidoscope of colours shone through the huge, arched stain glass windows. Arthur looked up to see ceiling was actually covered in small wispy clouds in which underneath were complex runes that had been etched around drawings of dragons and mermaids and all such fantasy creatures alike. The hall had a light and airy feel to it, and Arthur knew you could fit at least five of his own council chambers inside it, if not more. Opposite to the door at the far end of the room were five wooden thrones. Other than that, the room was completely devoid of any furniture or items of any kind.

The women lead Gwaine and Arthur to the far end of the room to the thrones. Once they got closer, Arthur could see that four of them were preoccupied by four figures. The woman stopped by the foot of the thrones and bowed her head before looking up and speaking to the figures.

"I have brought the Once and Future King as well as Strength," she said proudly.

Arthur took this opportunity to get a better look at the figures. The biggest throne in the middle was occupied by a woman clothed in a simple white gown which glittered in the sunlight whenever she moved. A tangle of platinum blonde curls were delicately arranged around her oval face, but her most striking feature was of her ice blue eyes which were so achingly familiar. Upon her head were several icicles entwined and pointing upwards to make a glass crown which reflected and scattered the rainbow light.

The plump man on her right was wearing an orangey red tunic which looked so dry and crinkled; it reminded Arthur of dying autumn leaves. His fiery ginger hair seemed completely radiant compared to the ice woman's cold coloured curls. The man's amber eyes were similar to the man sitting the other side of the ice woman. This man was the friendliest looking out of the four and Arthur couldn't help but notice the chrysanthemum petals tangled up in his brown curls. He also had high cheekbones and was wearing light flowing robes made of light turquoise silk.

It was rather an odd thing but not as odd as the final figure sitting on the far left, a pale skinned woman with raven black hair and sea green eyes. Her attire was the strangest out of the four, as her robes seemed to be completely made out of cherry blossom. Arthur noted that she too was the prettiest out of the four.

"Welcome," the ice woman stood up, followed quickly by the other three, "welcome to the Great Hall of Avalon. My name is Dŵr and I am one of the four Guardians of Avalon."

Arthur felt her icy glare piercing his gaze, making him feel uncomfortable standing in her presence.

"On my right is Tân and on my left is Awyr with Ddaear being on the far left; the other three Guardians. We have been standing watch over the Earth since the Dawn of Time and will continue to do so until the Sunset of Life. We serve to keep the nature in balance and control over the elements of Earth. I am Guardian of Water and I bring the frost and snow when it is time to mark the end of the year. Ddaear is the Guardian of Earth and she starts the cycle of nature once again after Winter has finished. She breathes new life onto the Earth and tends all manner of creatures big and small."

The raven haired woman on the far left gave Arthur and Gwaine a small smile and gently bowed her head slightly at them.

"Then we have Awyr who is the Guardian of Air and brings the warmth of the Summer Sun to all life down on Earth, helping the creatures along their journey throughout the adolescence of the year. Finally we have Tân who is the Guardian of Fire, who helps to start to bring about the closing of the year and the preparing of Winter. Without this constant cycle, the creatures of Earth would surely perish because there wouldn't be a balance."

Dŵr bowed slightly to Arthur, Gwaine and the woman before she and the others sat back down on their thrones. Arthur noticed that each throne was intricately carved with tiny runes and swirling patterns, too delicate for a human hand to draw of their own accord. However yet another question unravelled in his mind. Gwaine turned to him with a similar expression of confusion which mirrored Arthur's own uncertainty about the situation.

"Excuse me Dŵr, but there are only four of you and there are five thrones. Why?" He moved forward and asked.

"In nature there are five elements; Water, Earth, Air, Fire and Magic. The fifth throne belongs to youngest of the five; Emrys who is the Guardian of Magic. However he was sent to Earth to serve and protect the Once and Future King as well as helping to bring about the golden age of Albion. Although he wasn't aware of it at first, Druid Seers have prophesised about this centuries ago and through Kilgarrah, Emyrs was able to learn of his destiny so he aid the coming of Albion."

"Merlin," breathed Arthur quietly.

He couldn't believe it. Merlin his scrawny manservant and best friend was actually the most powerful being in existence and he didn't even realise it. Arthur felt a tinge of guilt once more as he remembered the times he had goaded Merlin for being such a useless servant, when really Merlin had the power to take him apart with just the blink of his eyes.

Gwaine appeared to thinking along the same lines of Arthur, his companion had been hiding something so dangerous from them all.

"Why Merlin? He just doesn't seem the type." Gwaine remarked. Dŵr smirked coldly at him.

"Emrys wasn't made aware of his prophecy until he entered Camelot. He seemed very… reluctant at first to believe in anything of the sort, but as time progressed, his powers grew alongside his knowledge and soon he began to grow into his destiny. You too Arthur Pendragon, were growing more distinct as time passed but we were wary as there were many moments where you were placed in great danger. We seeked to influence Emrys in many ways, although mostly he seemed stubborn to not realise what he was being told and often disobeyed destiny to do his own thing."

Arthur grinned to himself; trust Merlin to not listen to anybody.

"But what about me?" Gwaine interjected, "I mean Arthur is the Once and Future and Merlin is Emrys, Guardian of Magic. What does that make me? Why have I been brought to Avalon?"

"You were foreseen to aid Emrys and the Once and Future King on their journey to building Albion. You were the Golden Trio; Strength, Courage and Magic. With the three of you together you were sure to succeed on your quest to the Fisher King in which he bestowed the most precious of gifts and throughout the course of the latter years from there. You too had an important role to play in Destiny and you wouldn't be one to dismiss it so freely."

Gwaine looked a taken back at the news, Arthur didn't blame him, all of this news that Dŵr had given them had completely changed the way he viewed the world worked. He remembered when he and Merlin had been sitting by the campfire when visiting the Disir, discussing if they should let magic be allowed into Camelot. Merlin had commented on how the world around seem to be thrumming with life, but Arthur had been bemused by this comment, only to not really take the full meaning of this till now. Merlin had been at one with the spirit of the creatures and plants around them, having attuned himself to his surroundings. Arthur then understood that Merlin didn't know that he was the Guardian of Magic, but was doing so naturally on instinct without even realising it.

That had been a lifetime ago. Quite literally.

"You've been through a lot recently. Go, leave these halls. Rest yourselves by the Coeden Afalau outside. There is much more you need to learn but too much knowledge can destroy a man." Dŵr commanded.

With that Dŵr and the other three Guardians closed their eyes and began humming a slow and haunting tune, which seemed to vibrate the very particles in the air around them. Arthur was drunk with the information that he had been given, that he had entered a dreamlike state. He didn't even realise that he was being led outside until he, Gwaine and the woman stopped outside a huge, wrinkled tree which seemed so knarled yet when he sat and lent against it, it was one of the smoothest things he had ever touched.

It was so much to take in, to learn his destiny. His legs felt like they had turned to lead and he shakily shielded his eyes against the afternoon sun. The knarled tree was a pale brown in colour, with an intricate spider web of ivy climbing up one side of it. It had no leaves on it and the branches were bare except for a single apple. The three of them appeared to be in a lush meadow filled with a sweet linger of apple and lavender. In the distance, Arthur could see the towering castle in which they had just been in, it's twisting spiral towers high in the sky. They appeared to be all by themselves.

Gwaine settled himself beside Arthur, he too seemed like he was in a hypnotic state. The woman kneeled opposite against, sitting comfortably in the grass.

They seemed to sit in silence for what seemed an infinity, but Arthur had given up trying to work out how long they had been there. Three thoughts were spinning around his head in a cycle.

Merlin.

Magic.

Destiny.

Merlin.

Magic.

Destiny.

Merlin.

Magic.

Destiny.

The thoughts flowed around and around his brain. He was originally angry and hurt when he found out that Merlin had been hiding that fact that he was a sorcerer – no warlock – from him that he wasn't looking at the bigger picture. The thoughts that had been implemented in his head by his father had now shattered as he realised everything he had been taught had been wrong.

He hadn't even realised how much Merlin had gone through for him. Or Gwaine speaking of which.

Arthur gazed over at his comrade, realising that he thought he knew who Gwaine was. The laughing and joking man who seemed to spend most of his time at the Tavern but was fiercely loyal to Camelot. He didn't realise that Gwaine had been so much more that, more than a mere Knight.

And here they were together, in Avalon.

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I thought this was going to have more action but it turned out to be more of Arthur learning about his destiny, because although Merlin tells him he's the Once and Future King, Arthur never learns the true extent of his destiny before he dies. I wanted to write a bit more of Arthur feeling sad about his death/what he left behind in Camelot but then it turned out it didn't fit quite as planned. *gold star for trying anyway* XD Maybe I'll include this at a later date.

Also I'm not quite sure what Avalon is supposed to be like so this is completely different from how it probably should be (except for the apple tree) and the Guardians don't exist in the real Arthurian legends but I hope you enjoyed reading about them. Hopefully the next chapter should see a bit from Merlin and Gwen doing a bit of action instead of Arthur and Gwaine reflecting (although I've enjoyed writing some angsty feels from Arthur!).

Thanks for the amazing reviews from CloudsAndWaves, Method in Madness, Little Miss Emerald, mayatrau, Vuurvlieg and Izzy - I.R.T. Yes Izzy I've tried to take a note of what you have said and have gone through both chapter one and two and corrected all the tiny comma errors in the characters speech (I didn't realise I did this quite a lot, thank you!). Any comments or critisim is welcome. Thank you for reading! :) *cries because I can't spell critisism*


	4. Blue - Progress

A strange sort of stillness had fallen over Merlin.

He sat crossed legged in a cave, with his back to entrance, humming very quietly to himself. The pouring rain outside had soothed Merlin into a state of deep meditation which he had been sitting in for almost thirteen days.

_In._

Each breathe came in slowly and deeply.

_And out._

He released his pent up tension into his surroundings.

_In._

The scent of petrichor flooded his synapses.

_And out._

He felt his magic pulsing out of him, spreading out like a fog throughout the forest and beyond.

_In._

The movement of hundreds upon thousands of creatures rippled like tiny particles upon his magical wave.

_And out._

They were so full of life.

_In._

He was alive.

_And out._

Arthur was not.

_In._

It had been three weeks.

_And out._

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"Good morning Milady"

The curtains were thrown back and the rays from the early morning sunshine flooded the chambers. Gwen opened her bleary eyes to see her new lady in waiting patiently at the foot of their bed with a tray of breakfast in her hands.

Stupid stupid! Her bed. Not theirs! Not anymore.

"Would you like to get dressed or eat first?" the girl asked timidly to Gwen. Gwen closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Oh how she missed waking up next to the ruffled blonde haired man.

"Milady?" the girl interrupted her thoughts, Gwen snapped her eyes back open.

"I'm sorry about that, I think I'll go and get dressed first if that's alright," Gwen said, sitting up in the bed.

"Of course Milady!" the girl curtsied before walking over to the wardrobe to find Gwen's outfit for the day.

It has been three weeks to this day she had been officially crowned Queen and Ruler of Camelot. A lot had changed since then. The whole kingdom had been in morning over the loss of their King; the castle had seemed a whole lot emptier without him striding down the corridor or sitting in the Council Chambers. And it wasn't just him, Merlin had never returned and his empty presence had just as much dominated the empty space as much as Arthur had created. Together they had enlarged it. The two were always side by side; they rarely left each other for anything.

She wasn't the only one longing for their presence again. Leon and Gaius had been much more subdued since her coronation. Several hours later, Percival had come in mud streaked and tear stained, holding the feeble body of Gwaine. Guinevere, who had to keep up appearances in Court, tried to sooth the unstable to no avail, but in the isolation of her chambers, she had broken down herself and cried with no one to comfort her. Although they hadn't spoken as much in recent times, she remembered the times when Gwaine first arrived at Camelot, his playful flirting and carefree banter with the other knights.

Now that was gone too.

Camelot had lost a great deal and it would take a long time to heal, but Gwen had to give hope to the people. Give them strength and the determination to carry on otherwise the kingdom would fall and everything that Arthur had built would have been for nothing.

Arthur _and_ Merlin. Gaius had told her the truth about what had really been going on since Merlin had arrived at Camelot. The Kingdom's secret protector.

With her newly gained insight, Gwen decided there needed a time for change. It had taken two long weeks of arguing, tossing between whether they would allow the new law or not, debates in council chambers. But finally she could change things for the better.

Gwen was going to lift the ban on magic.

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_In._

The water was about to spill over the banks of the creek to the North.

_And out._

A young fox cub had taken its first few wobbly steps around the den.

_In._

The rain was beginning to lessen now.

_And out._

A rabbit dashed across the clearing, trying to stay as dry as possible.

_In._

The chirping of the cricket echoed around the cave.

_And out._

The rain finally stopped.

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Gwen smoothed down the crease in her navy blue dress, a sense of nervousness settling over her. Leon stood by her side as her new Chief Advisor, as well as a Knight of Camelot. Around the Round Table were gathered the Knights, Gaius, several lords, (and to her request) several townsfolk. Gwen felt if she was going to change the biggest law in all of Camelot, then she would want the support of citizens and not just the nobles. Gwen wanted everyone to have a say in what was happening so it seemed only fair to invite people who she knew who it was going to affect the most.

"Good afternoon, we are gathered here today to degree a new law. The lift of the ban on magic."

She saw several of the lords frowning with distrust at her, but she continued to soldier on in her speech.

"We have all been blinded by Uther and his hatred of magic that we ourselves have grown to fear it. However it is not always used as an instrument of evil, but can be a force for good as well. It was magic that brought you our beloved former King of Camelot; he was born out of a force so strong and pure which he has managed to project onto Camelot. Yet Uther persecuted people who dared to use magic, condemning them for the rest of their lives and putting them for death just because they could perform one simple spell, which could be difference between life and death for some of the townsfolk. However people began to rebel against it, trying to hurt Uther, which only strengthened Uther's stance that all evil is magic and should be destroyed."

She glanced over at Gaius who gave her a small smile.

"However this isn't the case. We have already seen that the Druids are a peaceful people as you all know that Arthur stopped the persecution on the Druids. But it went much deeper than that. Arthur had a magical protector by his side for ten years, thwarting every piece of evil that has tried to penetrate these walls. He stood silently in the shadows, never taking any credit, wanting only to see the rise of the Kingdom. You better know him as Merlin, Emyrs to the druids, manservant and best friend to the King. Although they are both gone, their spirits shall live on forever in Camelot and rise we shall.

From this day forth, I am herby lifting the ban of magic. People will be judged on their actions against the Kingdom, not on their ability to perform magic."

The whole of the hall was silent for a few moments. Then Percival gave a big cheer.

"FOR THE KING! AND FOR MERLIN!"

"MERLIN! MERLIN! MERLIN!" the Knights began to chant. Percival began whooping, Leon clapped as hard as he could, but Gwen sought out Gaius and saw that he was smiling and laughing quietly to himself. For the first time in free weeks, she felt some of the burden and hardship beginning to lessen slightly.

At last magic was free.

They were so busy celebrating, that nobody noticed one of the townsfolk slip quietly out of the chambers.

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_In._

Blue patches in the sky began to appear through the clouds.

_And out._

Arthur had blue eyes.

_In._

A few weak rays of light shone onto the ground below.

_And out._

A timid squirrel peaked out of her hidey hole in the tree, checking if it was safe to come out.

_In._

The forest was beginning to wake up once more now the rain had passed, the birds were twittering away in the trees and in the far off distance was the growl of the wildcat.

_And out._

The world was bright once more.

_In._

Light was scattered through the leaves off the overhead trees.

_And out._

Suddenly Merlin felt a change in atmosphere. Something dark was penetrating the side of his magical wave, so Merlin instantly withdrew his shield back to himself. His eyes shot up and his heartbeat began to thump double time. There was something coming. Something so dark that it had awakened him instantly from his dream like state, something so unnatural and cold. Merlin had never felt anything like this before.

Merlin had attuned himself to the forest, but now even the simple peace and tranquillity had been disturbed.

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Authors Note – I'm sorry for the late update, I'm currently in the process of revising for two A-Level exams which I've got next week (Maths and Physics *hangs self*), so the next one or two updates will probably be slower. However now that we've seen what Merlin and Gwen have been up too, there should be a bit more action happening (whether it will be in the next chapter or the one after that I'm not sure but I do promise that it is coming up soon so you won't have to wait long I promise!)

Thank you for my lovely reviews, it always makes me smile to see that you've enjoyed this! Thank you for reading and I hope you stay with me!


	5. Green - An Unusual Presence

A warm breeze made Arthur's cheek tingle. Everything felt surreal. The apple green grass beneath his feet felt real.

And he was dead.

The meadow in which he sat was thrumming with life. He closed his eyes as he recalled a memory of him and Merlin sitting the forest, alone, deciding upon the fate of Camelot.

_They sat around a campfire; it crackled loudly in the silence of the forest. They had just been to visit the Disir and now the weight of his decision to allow magic back into Camelot grew even heavier at every passing moment. Arthur had sent Merlin off to fetch some more firewood so he could have some time to reflect on his thoughts. Yet he couldn't of anything but one thing. What had struck him as uncanny was not the fact that the Disir wanted him to embrace the Old Religion but the fact that Merlin knew that they were standing on sacred ground._

_"How did you know this ground was sacred?" Arthur asked to Merlin as he came back into the clearing with a pile of wood under his arms._

_"That's because it is," Merlin replied back. Arthur rolled his eyes as Merlin added the extra wood to the fire. Merlin was avoiding his question, but Arthur didn't know why that was._

But now he does know. Yet his former self had not been happy with this answer and had decided to delve further into the matter.

_"Pretend it isn't," Arthur stated out loud, simply gazing up into the canopy of the trees. Merlin turned to look at Arthur, Arthur could feel Merlin's eyes upon him._

_"Everything here, is so full of life." Merlin's tone was full of sincerity and respect for the forest around him. "Every tree, every insect," Arthur looked up at Merlin who was smiling gently with a calm expression on his face "It is as if the world is vibrating. It is everything is moving all around us."_

_"You feel all of that?" he had asked ignorantly._

_And ignorant Arthur was because here in Avalon he could feel the whole around him thrumming with life._

_"Don't you?" Merlin had asked, still with the sincere and respective tone, still looking at Arthur as if to say 'look at all the beauty and magic in the forest' and Arthur had misread the sign._

_Thinking back to it, Arthur realised that all along Merlin had been giving him signs that he had magic, yet he was too oblivious to even notice them. Here Merlin had been trying to prove that magic was a force for good, for connecting with nature and attuning himself with the world._

Here Arthur realised that Merlin had been so close to revealing his magic, yet in the heat of the moment Merlin had decided against it, because now he realised that his own judgement would have still be clouded by the attack on Mordred from the Disir. It would have just worsened the situation.

Arthur looked over to see Gwaine and the woman sitting cross legged, the woman gently tracing the lines on Gwaine's palm.

"Um excuse me?" he began to ask, not sure how to phrase his question, "but is there, um, any chance we can see what has happened in Camelot, since, er we left?"

The woman stood up and walked around to the other side of the apple tree. Arthur and Gwaine stood up and followed her where a large clear pool of water seeped out from underneath the tree.

"Here is the Scrying Pool where you can watch what is happening in the mortal world." She said, gesturing for them to look into it. Arthur looked down and saw an image of Camelot materialise in the water, an image of its town bustling with activity. Everything seemed to be the same as normal except-

His eye strayed to a girl sitting in the street outside her house. She wasn't much older than twelve but what she did was on beyond Arthur's belief. The girl knelt down to the mud in front of her, taking a stick and drew a circle and inscribed a couple of basic runes inside of it. She then muttered several incoherent spells and Arthur watched with disbelief as her brown eyes flashed gold as a small clay fox was transmuted from the mud circle in front of her.

Granted it wasn't very good, but it was still magic. Magic inside his kingdom! People had passed her without even turning their heads at the magic that had been performed under their eyes. The girl grinned as she scooped up her model and ran inside of the house, calling for her mother.

"What just happened?" asked Arthur bemused, pointing to where the girl had just been sitting.

"Magic." The woman simply replied still gazing into the reflection of the water.

"But surely somebody would have noticed that?" Gwaine said confused.

"It has been a year since the death of the King. The ban of magic has been lifted with there being no radical threat to the kingdom anymore. Since the lifting of the ban, Camelot has flourished in both wealth, crops, livestock and the other kingdoms have slowly been brought together under the watchful eye of the young Queen. They are now working together with co-operation and this has brought about the new age of peaceful prosperity."

"A year?" Gwaine blurted out.

"Yes," the woman replied, "time passes quite differently in Avalon than it does in Camelot."

"Would it be possible if I could see Guinevere?" asked Arthur, a tugging guilt inside of chest which made him realise how much he had missed her. They hadn't even had time to say goodbye properly during the late hours of that fateful night.

The pool then morphed into the image of the Great Hall, where a council meeting was in session. Gwen had seated herself near the top of the Round Table, with Leon to her right and Gaius to her left. Arthur could recognise several of the Knights including Percival listening to the Queen talking. As well as the Knights, there were several lords and dotted around the edge of the room were numerous servants. Gwaine breathed out a sigh of relief upon seeing the rest of his fellow Knights safe and sound, and Arthur felt a great weight being lifted off his chest seeing how magnificently Gwen had been running the kingdom. However there was still one thing that was niggling him.

"Where's Merlin?" Arthur saw the woman's smile falter slightly for a moment, her hazel eyes showed a brief moment of concern before returning back to their normal gaze. The woman dipped her fingers into the water and swirled them around, muttering a few words under her breath until an image of Merlin came up in the water.

Merlin was in a place Arthur had never seen before, a forest that was unbeknown to him. A change had come over Merlin, he seemed older and more hardened, moving in a much more swift and graceful way to his typical clumsy steps. Merlin was still wearing his usual scarf and leather jacket, but he was wearing a dark brown travelling cloak on top and his hair was much longer and messier than what it used to be. Merlin had changed.

Arthur felt a pang of pain in his gut, remembering the bright blue eyes that had been the very last thing he had seen, the sensation of being gently cradled in his best friends arms.

"What is he doing?" Gwaine said, noticing the odd behaviour that Merlin was displaying.

It was most indeed odd, as Merlin was moving silently, almost tiptoeing, his eyes gazing intently on the ground as he made quick progress through the forest.

"He looks like… he's tracking?" said Arthur in disbelief. Of all the things he guessed Merlin would be doing, tracking was what he wasn't expecting.

"But Merlin hates hunting!" Gwaine grinned, remembering the times Merlin had moaned whenever there was a Royal Hunt on.

"I don't understand either," Arthur was perplexed by Merlin's unusual behaviour. He could remember every single argument that Merlin had put forward when had been dragged along to these things, stating how it was unfair for the pray was fighting for its life against a dozen or so crossbows. And here he was, tracking something.

"The question is not why he's tracking," the woman slowly said, "but what the thing is that Merlin is tracking…."

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It had been ten long months since Merlin had first sensed the unusual presence in his cave. He had worried him for a bit so he had scouted his magic around in his area and the area surrounding Camelot, but the dark presence was nowhere to be located. Curious, but not curious enough, Merlin had forgotten about the dark presence and had simply gone back to meditating in his hidden cave, ignoring the presence because it wasn't a threat to Camelot at that precise moment in time.

Merlin hadn't returned to Camelot since Arthur's death, but wasn't about to either. He couldn't face the thought of seeing the disappointment on Gaius and Gwen's faces. Merlin couldn't cope with the fact he would be going to the place where everywhere would absolutely be overflowing with Arthur's missing presence. It would be too much for him. Not to mention the immense burden of doom he felt weighing down on his shoulders.

Instead he had gone as far as he could from Camelot on his own self-imposed exile, not wanting to even connect with the normal townsfolk of the local villages. Merlin had gone deep into the forest and decided to slowly attune himself with the nature around him, which had a more soothing effect on his magic, calming him and helping him slowly regain focus.

And it had worked.

Until the dark presence had come back under his radar again.

For the first time in ten months, something deep had stirred inside of Merlin and once more he felt of a spark of motivation to get up and follow the dark presence. This time however he wasn't going to lose it.

And he hadn't. Merlin had been silently tracking it for nearly a month now, there had been days where had been almost so close to him finding out what it was, for it to then divert off into the far distance in a different direction. Frustrated, Merlin had been spurred onto his efforts to find out what it was that had been troubling the flow of the air around him.

On the thirtieth day of following it, Merlin had been so close to finding out what it was. However when it was almost within a mere and painful touching distance, it had suddenly vanished into thin air without a trace. Annoyed, Merlin hadn't realised how far he had come, or where he had been brought to until he looked up into the skyline. There, protruding from the horizon, were the tips of the towers of Camelot.

The last place he wanted to be right now.

Merlin felt a frantic stab of panic in his stomach as he realised how far his futile search had taken it and was about to take flight back in the direction he had come from, when there came this almighty clap of thunder and a huge surge of magic came rippling through the air, sending Merlin flying backwards into the tree knocking him out. Merlin sprawled out across the leafy bed beneath him, a pulsing headache leaving him unable to move and wake up.

Things were finally being set into motion, as a shadow swept across Merlin's limp body.

This was the day that everything was going to change.

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DUN DUN DUN WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I'm so sorry about the really late update! To make up for it, I've made it slightly longer than the previous ones! My January exams are now over so I can hopefully concentrate about updating this fanfic once a week so it's more regular and that means I will actually begin to write more as well, if I have a deadline! Once again, thank you for the amazing reviews, they have been really great to read as they make me feel all happy and mushy inside (yes I know, cheesy right?).

In other news, me and my friend entered the Merlin Superfan competition and we were one of the ten winners who made it onto the Merlin DVD boxset LAKSJDF;LAKSJDF;LAKSJDF;ALKSJDF;LAKSJ! IT'S SO EXCITING AND I JUST CANNOT CONTAIN MY FEELS! IT'S SO GR88888888888888888888

But yeah, that's been the highlight of my week (except for the snow) so I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hopefully a new chapter should be on your way soon!


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